Don't Speak
by AmySparkles
Summary: 'They looked disappointed in him and that hurt more than Grissom's accusations.'When Nick is accused of something he didn't do friendships are tested. Warrick isn't helping matters.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys.. This story came to me when I was watching the episode _Sex, Lies and Larvae.. _When Ecklie was talking to Grissom about Warrick he said 'I figure if he brings anybody down with him it should be from your shift. Don't you think?' and it got me thinking..

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.. And this is my first multi-chapter story so reviews are welcomed.. I'd love to know how you guys think I'm doing.. :)

Oh and once again, I don't own CSI or anything.. Damn :P

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'NICK' He turned as he heard Grissom yell his name and saw him storm in through the door

with a look that caused Nick's happy face to drop. He barely uttered a reply before Grissom walked right up to him, grabbed the drink he was holding and threw it in the nearby trash can. Nick was surprised at the uncharacteristic hostility Grissom was showing him.

They had been celebrating a closed case. Pizza boxes and coca cola cans littered the table in the break-room. Greg had started playing the new NFL game on the XBox Nick had bought a few months ago. It filled the gaps between cases and they were killing time before Grissom handed them new assignments. After pulling a double shift Alex Dempsey was on his way to serving a life sentence for the brutal killing of his family.

'Grissom, what are..' The look on Grissom's face caused him to shut up and as he looked over at his friends he noticed they looked confused too. He turned back to Grissom and attempted again to ask him what was going on but Grissom must have decided it was a one-sided conversation.

'Do you have any idea what you've caused, any at all?' He saw Greg flinch at the tone Grissom was using. Nick just looked at his boss with a confused expression as he couldn't think of what would have caused Grissom to act this way with him. The fact that Grissom hadn't attempted to ask any of the others to leave was an indication as to how angry he was.

'Griss, I don't know what you talking about.' Grissom seemed to get even more angry with him if that was possible

'I'm talking about your constant ambition to be pushing shopping carts for a living.' This caused Nick to become defensive, he didn't like it when Grissom made him feel inadequate. The others were all staring now, they had felt the increase in tension He looked Grissom straight in the eyes but he noticed how cold they were towards him.

'Look Grissom, I'd appreciate if you told me what the hell was going on before you rip my head off.' Nick stood at his tallest, it was an instinctive thing to do when he felt threatened and needed to defend himself.

'You don't know, then let me refresh your memory. Does the name Alex Dempsey sound familiar?' Grissom was being sarcastic with him which only served to annoy Nick more. 'The man that murdered his entire family but only after years of abuse and neglect.'

'Of course I remember Grissom, you don't have to treat me like an idiot.' Nick had become equally angry at Grissom because of his attitude towards him. He always felt like he couldn't measure up to Grissom's expectations but the way he was treating him now was just the icing on the cake.

'Well, I'm sorry if I've mistaken you for an idiot but you can understand my confusion when I get a phone call from Brass telling me that the case we so diligently worked on could be thrown out and Dempsey will most likely be a free man.' This got the attention of everyone in the room. Dempsey was an arrogant and vicious man that they were all suspicious of the moment they met him playing the distraught widow card.

'That scumbag is going to get away, how?' Sara had worked hard with them to put the guy behind bars, everyone knew how personal she took cases regarding domestic abuse. She looked like she could match Grissom's anger regarding Nick, if that was possible.

'Gil, we did everything by the book. They couldn't have found a fault in the evidence.' Catherine looked at Grissom questioningly. She didn't understand why all of his anger towards Dempsey was directed at Nick.

Greg looked like he was thinking the same as Catherine but didn't want to confront Grissom. He had been looking from Grissom to Nick during the conversation. If anyone looked into the break room from outside they probably would have thought Greg was watching a tennis match taking place, his head had moved from side to side so much.

Warrick stayed quiet. His hands were clasped together and he never took his eyes off them.

'Maybe Nick could explain to everyone what happened.' Grissom had made Nick feel like the naughty student made to stand at the top of the classroom for everyone to see while his teacher gave out to him.

'Grissom, for the last time I don't what you're talking about.' Nick was growing tired of this conversation.

'Brass got a visit from Detective Vega. He said he heard from another Police Officer that one of my guys was at The Venetian casino.' Catherine stood up at the mention of this new information. 'He said it was the same guy who brought the fingerprints we found in the house the day after the murders to the lab.' As it dawned on Nick what had happened he looked at Warrick. Warrick was still staring at his hands. He looked up and met Nick's eyes, Nick was giving him a look that could have turned anybody to stone.

'And who arrived here at the lab with those fingerprints?' Grissom was staring at Nick, he knew the answer but he wanted Nick to say it out loud.

'Me.' Nick said while staring at Warrick. Warrick never made a move to speak.

'Nicky..' Catherine looked at him with disappointment in her eyes.

'Look Grissom I know I was the one to bring the fingerprints here but..' Nick felt torn between telling his boss the truth and his loyalty to Warrick.

'Save it Stokes. We have a Police Officer who can confirm you were there.' Ecklie was standing by the door now. He had a smirk on his face that Nick would have loved to punch if it wouldn't get him fired.

'Nick, what were you thinking?' Catherine had joined the conversation now and Nick felt like they were ganging up on him.

'What the hell where you doing there Nick? A woman caught your eye and you thought you would go get her phone number. Or maybe you fancied a drink. Thought you could catch a beer during lunch and nobody would know. What was it?' Nick felt like he was being attacked with no-one on his team to help.

'Grissom I would never do that during work hours, you know that.' Nick felt his heart sink at the look on Grissom's face. Grissom didn't believe him. He was looking at him the same way he looked at a suspect when he was interrogating them.

'My office now.' Nick could have sworn Grissom gave him whiplash with how fast his emotions changed. He went from so angry he could have killed Nick to utterly disappointed in a matter of seconds. Grissom walked out the door and Nick didn't have to look at his friends to know they were staring at him.

Nick walked out and Ecklie followed behind him. He saw the rest of the lab watching him _they must have heard all the shouting_ Nick thought. As he left the break-room he looked back at his friends. They looked disappointed in him and that hurt more than Grissom's accusations. The fact that they seemed to believe he could risk a case by going to a casino hurt him. Catherine had her hands on her hips and watched him leave while Sara looked away from him as if she was disgusted. Greg looked uncomfortable and Warrick... he looked Nick dead in the eye. Nick could see the guilt in his green eyes.

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Thanks for reading, the next chapter shouldn't be too far away and will reveal a lot more about what's going on.. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next chapter.. I really didn't know what this chapter was going to contain exactly.. I just started this story with two scenes in my head and now I'm filling in the blanks :P .. Anyway, Enjoy.. I'd love to hear your thoughts.. :)

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'I want to know your every step, from the moment you left that crime scene.' Grissom was sitting behind his desk staring at Nick. Nick felt like a true suspect with Ecklie standing behind his chair as if to lock him in the room. He felt the need to runaway but his father had always told him to face his problems like a man.

'I already told you, I left the crime scene with the fingerprints like you asked and drove straight to the lab.' Nick was becoming annoyed that he had to explain himself to Grissom. He was his boss, shouldn't he be on his side. Nick couldn't help but think that if Warrick was the one sitting there Grissom would be defending him to the end no matter what.

'Well obviously you took a detour that your forgetting to tell us about. It wouldn't be the first time one of Grissom's guys found himself at the slot machines during work hours.' Ecklie wasn't afraid to voice his opinions, himself and Grissom seemed to be a tag team all of a sudden.

'Ecklie we are not here to talk about anything that may have happened before.' _Trust Grissom to protect his favourite CSI at every chance_ Nick thought. 'Were here to talk about the Dempsey case. Nick, there is a police officer that places you in the casino. You being there means the evidence may have been compromised and that is exactly how Alex Dempsey's lawyer is going to see it.'

'Not to mention the fact that the defence will make the jury believe the case was handled by a gambling addict.' Ecklie loved to see Nick in trouble while Nick couldn't believe what was happening. He always followed the rules and never stepped out of line and now all of a sudden Grissom believed he had jeopardised a case not to mention that he was an addict.

'I'm not an addict, Ecklie. For God's sake.' Nick wanted to pinch himself because this had to be a dream.

'From what I've heard your very fond of making bets with other CSI's regarding the outcome of cases. Am I wrong?' Nick felt like every little thing he had done was going to be used against him and he didn't want to defend himself to Ecklie anymore, he needed to get through to his boss.

Nick leaned forward in his seat to try and reason with Grissom. 'Griss, you know me. You know I wouldn't put a case in danger, I wanted to see that guy in jail just as much as everyone else. Why would I go to a casino and risk it?' Nick was pleading with him but he didn't see another way to knock sense into Grissom. Before Nick could categorise what it was he saw in Grissom's eyes Ecklie piped up.

'Come on Nick, who knows what your capable of. I mean, who can forget the fact that you slept with a hooker. You couldn't get laid without paying for it?' Ecklie had a smirk on his face and something inside Nick snapped.

'Her name was Kristy, and shut the hell up Ecklie. You don't know what you're talking about.' Nick couldn't contain his anger anymore and if he was being honest he didn't care.

'That's a touchy subject. Maybe that's why you were in the casino, one of her friends gave you a call.' Nick bolted up from his chair to confront Ecklie but Grissom tried to diffuse the situation knowing his CSI would only get in more trouble.

'Nick, sit back down right now, we still need to discuss what's happened.' Grissom put his arm out towards Nick and motioned for him to sit down but Ecklie's last tirade had increased his anger and encouraged him to speak his mind without any concern for the outcome.

''_What's happened'_ You've already made up your mind that it happened, that I was there. Why can't you believe me Grissom? You know, you would defend Warrick and everyone else no matter what they were accused of and you can't help me this one time.' Grissom didn't try to respond, it was like a dam had been opened and Nick's thoughts were gushing out.

'I needed you to help me when Kristy died and do you know who was there? Catherine. She helped me prove my innocence. She stood beside me while Kristy was buried with no friends or family to say goodbye. I would have been the only one there and did you even ask me how I was the next day?' The fact that Grissom hadn't helped him that day had stayed with Nick and his mouth seemed to have decided this was the time to voice his opinions. He had never shouted at his boss before.

'She meant something to me and everyone noticed except you. Why should you care, it's only my life. You didn't care then and you obviously don't care now' Nick felt slightly relieved to have told Grissom how he was feeling but he also felt abandoned, like expressing his feelings made it real.

'Nick, if I didn't care why would I be here trying to sort this out?' Grissom stood up to match Nick's stance.

'You're not trying to sort this out you're asking me why I did it. Has it even crossed your mind that I'm not the one in the wrong here.' Nick was shouting louder than he ever had but for some reason he didn't care all he was concerned with was releasing his pent up emotions.

'Nick, I.. It's not that I..' Grissom was struggling with how to approach Nick after his outburst.

'Save it, I don't need your approval anymore or your help. I've gotten along fine before. Why don't you run off and find Warrick, I'm sure he's feeling particularly upset with all that's happened.' Grissom wanted to ask him why Warrick would be so upset but all he could do was stare at Nick. It was like something had come over him and the proof was in his eyes, they were no longer chocolate brown. They were the darkest shade of black Grissom had ever seen, it was like he had forgotten how Nick usually looked. This was someone else. His Nick didn't erupt in front of eyes like this. It scared Grissom. Nick turned to leave.

'Nick, wait I'm sorry you feel that way but..' As Grissom tried to explain himself he grabbed Nick's arm in a desperate attempt to get him to stay. Nick looked at him as if Grissom's hand was on fire and about to scald his arm.

'Get away from me.' Nick roughly pulled his arm free from Grissom's grasp and knocked into Ecklie as he made his hurried exit from the room. Grissom could only stand there and watch him leave.

He couldn't help but think that he made a mistake with Nick somewhere along the way and he needed to fix it before they lost him.

'You know, if a suspect were acting that hostile with me I'd have labelled them guilty a long time ago.'

'Shut up Ecklie.' Grissom turned and left, walking the opposite way Nick had.

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Catherine, Greg, Sara and Warrick had stayed in the break-room after Grissom and Ecklie left with Nick. There celebratory conversations had quickly turned into hushed questions after they realised something serious was happening. They heard the shouting but had stayed where they were not wanting to worsen the situation. They talked about the possibilities of Nick going to the casino and whether any of them had known if he had gone there before.

'Nick wouldn't have jeopardised a case like that.' Greg knew Nick and to him Grissom's words didn't make sense.

'He handled the case against Kristy for shoplifting and he was involved with her. Couldn't that have jeopardised the case.' As Sara finished speaking Greg noticed that she was looking at him as if they were talking about a suspect and not there friend.

'Come on, you know that was different. It's Nick. Why would he even be in a casino? He's not the kind of guy who sits at slot machines with tourists and old granny's trying to win money for a Ferrari.' Greg didn't like how serious the conversation was. _It's not like Nick's going to get in trouble._

'I don't like it either Greg but we still have to look at the facts. Why would Grissom come in here and act the way he did if there wasn't concrete evidence. It's not like him to jump the gun.' Catherine was trying to figure out what was going on and was keeping one eye towards Grissom's office so she could catch him the moment he was done with Nick.

'So you guys really think Nick could have screwed up the case. Come on where's your loyalty.' Greg hadn't meant to sound like he was accusing anyone of turning there back on Nick but Sara didn't see it that way.

'This isn't about loyalty Greg. It's about a guilty man walking free, he abused that family and the only relief they got from it was death. They need justice and it's our responsibility to get it for them.' Sara looked at Greg as if he had opened the jail door himself and let Dempsey go.

Greg thought their worries should have been about Nick, not the case. He didn't understand why Sara couldn't see that. 'When it involves your friend it's always about loyalty.'

'Not in our line of work Greg.' For the first time, Greg looked at Sara and didn't see a friend. He didn't see the person Nick would tease or make coffee for in the middle of a case. He didn't see the person who went out for drinks with them. He saw the person who had been brought in to investigate Warrick after Holly's death.

Greg looked around the room. They had given up on Nick. He thought that if it were possible everything was darker, like a cloud had made it's home above them. He couldn't be the only one who saw this as being about their friend and not a person who might have gone to a casino and jeopardised a case.

'Come on, Warrick, help me out here.' He realised that Warrick had been too quiet ever since Grissom entered the room, which seemed like hours ago. Warrick noticed that everyone was staring at him. They had all noticed how his eyes never left his clenched fists.

'I... I'm just thinking Greggo.' Warrick hoped they believed him. He had been thinking, it just wasn't exactly about what they had been discussing. He was waiting for Nick to come back. He needed to talk to him. He needed to hear Nick talk to him and say it was okay, say he wasn't angry at him.

'Care to share those thoughts, I mean...' Greg's voice trailed off as he saw Warrick's head shoot up. As Greg looked over his shoulder to see what had him so intrigued he felt Warrick breeze past and nearly knock him over. Warrick looked like a man on a mission but as Greg noticed that Nick was in the hallway walking past the break-room he thought he saw the slightest look of dread on Nick's face. It was like he hadn't seen his best friend coming towards him, it was someone else.

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Nick had felt only slightly relieved when he escaped Grissom's office. He knew he couldn't hide but it had felt good to shout at him. Finally let out everything he felt, not bottle it up anymore. He just wanted to go home now. Escape for a few hours. Then he saw Warrick walking towards him.

'Nick man, I need to explain, okay. It's not that I...' Warrick wanted to explain himself to Nick. He needed to explain to his friends what happened so that he would understand and not be angry with him.

'Warrick, leave me alone.' Nick couldn't talk to him. He needed to leave before he said something he would regret. As he walked past him, Warrick put his hands against Nick's chest to stop him from leaving. When Nick felt Warrick's hands it was as if he was in Grissom's office again. He pushed Warrick away from him with more force than was necessary.

'Warrick, I mean it man. I don't care that you want to get it off your chest but you're not using me to unload your guilt.'

'But Nick.. I'm sorry okay, I didn't mean for you to get in trouble I swear. I just..' Warrick wanted to say something that would make it alright between them.

'You just what? You weren't thinking about me, you were looking out for yourself. Did you hear Grissom? He thinks I was at that casino. Man, you know how hard I have to fight to get Grissom's approval, do you know what he thinks of me now?' Warrick felt drawn into Nick's eyes. He could see the hurt in them and the disappointment. While Warrick couldn't stop staring into his eyes, he noticed how Nick hadn't looked directly at him. It was as if he was disgusted by him.

'Bro..'

'Stop, Don't think for a second that we can pretend to be best friends after what you did. Nicky won't care, huh. He's so naïve it'll be easy to take advantage.Is that what you thought?' No matter how much he had tried to escape his life of being the youngest when he left Texas he realised that Warrick just made him feel like the younger sibling the others could take advantage of again.

'Just stop and listen to me alright. I asked you to bring the evidence back to the lab but not because I wanted you to take the fall. I wanted to go to the casino, alright. I'm sorry.' Warrick wanted to pour his soul out to Nick, anything to get him to realise he didn't want to get his best friend in trouble.

'Oh yeah, well then how come that officer said it was me, who told him that Warrick?' Nick nearly spat the words at Warrick. All he could focus on was the betrayal he felt.

'He must have thought that I was still going to be the one bringing the evidence back. He probably didn't hear me ask you to do it. Please Nick...' Nick considered Warrick's words and realised that was probably what happened but he couldn't forget one thing.

'Then why didn't you stand up for me?' Warrick heard the hurt in Nick's voice. 'How many times have I had your back. I'm always looking out for you Warrick.' Warrick looked away from the eyes he had been drawn to so much. He couldn't see look at the betrayal or disappointment visible in them. He had done that to Nick's eyes. He didn't know why he hadn't stood up for him, maybe because he put his own need for protection ahead of his friend's. After the Nigel Crane incident Warrick had promised him he would always have his back, no matter what. He failed.

Warrick wanted to respond so bad, say something that would make it alright between them. Fix it. Mend the cracks he knew had formed in their friendship No words came out and Nick looked at him like he'd just noticed the blade sticking in his back with Warrick's finger prints all over it. Something changed in Nick's face.

'Forget it. You're off the hook. You don't have to worry about me anymore.' Warrick knew that Nick didn't truly mean it but something about his face told him that Nick had given up, he didn't want to have to care anymore. Nick walked away and Warrick couldn't stop him.

Warrick became acutely aware off his friends standing at the door to the break-room. They looked at him as if he had killed their Nicky right in front of their eyes.

'Warrick...' Grissom's eyes were focused solely on him. They contained both disbelief and disappointment that Warrick felt cut him to the bone.

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To Be Continued...

Thanks for reading guys.. I hope you liked this chapter.. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Okay so I procrastinated a LOT with this chapter... I apologise.. Anyway I hope you like it, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it but hey, I'll see what you guys think.. Enjoy..

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Nick had been sitting in his house alone for hours. He had driven straight home and closed the door behind him all the while thinking about what had happened. He told Warrick he didn't care anymore but the truth was the complete opposite. He did care, but he had found over the years that it's just easier to pretend it doesn't matter. You can't get hurt if you don't care.

He was staring at his hands just as Warrick had done hours earlier. He had driven home almost in a daze, his thoughts never leaving what his friend had done. Deep down he knew Warrick only stayed silent because he was afraid of what the others, of what Grissom, would think. It still hurt though, you rely on your best friend to look out for you no matter what. It took Nick a long time to trust someone that closely, he didn't exactly have the best track record with people he thought he could trust. That was before he came to Vegas though, he found another family amongst the glittery lights and slot machines. Maybe that was why it hurt so much.

He kept trying to tell himself to just forgive Warrick. That's what best friends do, it's still hard though.

He heard a knock at his door and immediately grimaced. He knew it would only be a matter of time before one of his friends called or came over. They surely would have heard the shouting coming from Grissom's office and he was positive they saw the heated discussion between himself and Warrick. He got up from his seated position on the end of his bed and walked through his living room to see who it was. He opened his door and just stared at the person on the other side. It was Warrick and for some reason he felt suprised. He shouldn't have but somehow he thought that Warrick wouldn't care enough to come see him.

'Hey bro. Can I come in?' He talked quietly and if Nick didn't know better he would have said he looked a little scared. Nick looked at him and considered it for a few seconds. He stood aside as a way of inviting Warrick in. He walked past Nick and stood beside the counter that separated the living room and kitchen.

'Nick, man I'm really sorry. You gotta believe me. I never meant for you to get involved.' Warrick was looking at him, wanting him to say something. Nick just looked at him, waiting for the explanation that would make everything alright.

'Talk to me Nick. Look, I... I guess I just didn't want Grissom to find out, you know. He's already been disappointed in me before and I couldn't face it again. You understand right?' Nick could feel his anger from earlier returning. Why was he always the one who had to understand, for once couldn't he just be angry and upset, even hurt by someone.

'I get it. You did it cause you couldn't possibly make a mistake in Grissom's eyes. That's it, right?' Nick caught the last part and knew he sounded condescending but he couldn't care less. He saw Warrick's face change, saw the anger starting to come to the surface.

'You know what, screw you, I'm trying to apologise here.' Warrick stepped closer to Nick and let his full height show. His eyes were not the sparkling green they usually were, instead they had grown dark.

'Yeah, well you shouldn't have had to in the first place. Go cry to Grissom if you want forgiveness.' Nick squared his shoulders and his features became dark, something that usually only happened if he was questioning a suspect who had gotten on his nerves. Warrick laughed right in his face and Nick could have punched him right there and then.

'Don't even try it man. Your little routine. 'Grissom doesn't notice me, I'm never gonna be good enough' I had a problem and you happened to get caught up in it, okay? This isn't about you' Those last four words rang through Nick's head and echoed in Sara and Grissom's voices. It was like he had flashed back to the interrogation room with Nigel Crane on the other side looking back at him. He hated when they told him that. They didn't know the half of what he went through every day. If it wasn't about him it wouldn't have happened to him.

'Of course not, it never is about me Warrick. Except I'm always the one who has to pay the price. I'm sick of it, man.' He was screaming right in Warrick's face, his Texas accent growing thick. He could almost picture the old lady next door listening to his shouts and wondering what all the trouble was.

'What price? Are you the one who has Holly's death hanging over your god damn head.' Warrick's shouts were getting louder but Nick hated the fact that Warrick was pointing his finger in his face more. It was as if he was trying to intimidate him, Nick wasn't going to back down. All he could see was blind rage and nothing could stop the words coming out of his mouth.

He was shouting even louder now and he didn't care if the entire street was listening. 'No man, I'm just the one who had a nut job living in my attic watching me sleep and the one who got FUCKING BURIED ALIVE. You know what, I bet if we had traded places Grissom would have had my fucking ass kicked out of Vegas in one second flat. Why should the favourite even lose a night's sleep while he has Grissom there, you son of a bitch.'

The next thing Nick knew he was smacking his ass off the ground and his head off the counter while seeing stars. Hot fiery pain was racing through his jaw and the back of his head hurt, all he could do was look up. It was like all the life had been knocked from him and the anger that had been coursing through him was gone. Warrick was standing looking down at him, his face looked shocked as if he had just had his life's work taken away from him. The room was quiet and Warrick suddenly understood how silence could be deafening. Nick looked dazed and Warrick couldn't help but think it wasn't just from the hit. It was the fact that it had been delivered by his best friend. It felt like they stayed in those positions for hours and Warrick couldn't find any words to say. Sorry didn't seem to be enough.

Nick started to get to his feet and Warrick reached out a hand to help but Nick backed away from him. He stumbled and Warrick reached out again but Nick pushed his hand away. Nick had one hand on his jaw and the other on the counter. Warrick suddenly felt like he shouldn't be there, he had no right to be in the same room. He couldn't leave after what he had done though.

'Nick.. I shouldn't.. I'm so sorry man.' Warrick looked at him, his eyes pleading. Nick was staring at him and Warrick hated the shock he could see in his friends eyes. Nick turned and walked over to sit down, Warrick followed him hoping that he would say something.

'It's okay.' That's all he said. Warrick heard it echo through his head. It was so far from being the truth.

'No it's not bro. I shouldn't have hit you. I just.. I don't know why I did.' All Warrick had heard from Nick was how much of a pedestal he was on in Grissom's eyes. How could he be the favourite one when he could turn his back on his best friend just to go to a casino. He knew he needed help but how could he admit that he didn't have everything under control. Then before he knew it his fist had connected with Nick's jaw in one quick crack.

Nick was sitting down and Warrick crouched down next to him. 'Man, your going to have a nice bruise there. At least you can put on the tough act and charm a few ladies, huh?' Nick didn't move a muscle while Warrick tried to get a rise out of him. 'Nick, seriously bro look at me. I mean it I'm...'

'Stop. Look it's fine, okay? Just forget about it.' Warrick noticed how Nick had purposely moved his jaw as little as he could while he spoke. It made Warrick wince to think he was the cause. He should never be the cause of his friends pain, physical or emotional.

'Why don't you care Nick, you should. If I was some guy in a bar you wouldn't let this go.' For the first time in a long time Nick looked at him straight in the eyes.

'What's the point? Let's just get over it.' Nick looked worn down, like all the worries of every victim from every case they'd ever worked on had suddenly taken residence on his shoulders. Warrick thought he knew his partner, but he couldn't understand him.

It dawned on him that Nick was afraid of something changing. So much in his life was changed forcefully without him having any say, like carrying an epipen in case he encountered the wrong kind of ant or having to move house because some nut job drilled holes in his ceilings.

'Your sick of getting screwed over I get it man. I'm sorry I should have told Grissom it was me the second he started shouting at you. There's a lot of times you've had to look over your shoulder but you shouldn't have to do it when your best friends standing there. I promise bro, I won't let you take the heat for me again, you don't deserve it.' Nick looked at him and Warrick could have sworn he saw a faint smile.

'So because of your sweet little apology does this mean I don't get to clock you as pay back ' Nick smiled at him and then winced as it pulled on his jaw. Warrick was about to add his own comeback when Nick put his hand up to his jaw.

'I'll forgive you as long as I get first pick with the nurses at Desert Palms. I think you broke my jaw.' The blood drained from Warrick's face at the thought of explaining Nick's 'accident'. He just stared at his friends red jaw as he went to his fridge.

'The look on your face man. Relax, nothing a little ice won't fix.' Nick returned with an ice pack and two beers while Warrick looked at him relieved.

'Thank god. Catherine would have killed me and only after Brass charged me with attempted murder.' Warrick sat down and remembered how he and Nick had planned to watch some college ball together.

'Well, all is forgiven. As long as you come up with a story to explain to Grissom why I have a Warrick shaped bruise on my face.' Nick's face broke into a smile behind the ice pack he was holding.

'Yeah, great. Grissom should be fun.' Warrick looked and saw Nick's smile falter. He heard the shouts that had come from Grissom's office only hours ago. 'You know, he only pushes you hard because he knows you can deal with it. It's just how he is. It doesn't mean that he wouldn't take a hit for you just the same as the rest of us.'

'Yeah. It's just hard sometimes, you know?' Nick turned to find his television remote as he put his beer down.

'I know man, I know.' Warrick smiled as he saw his friend's eyes light up when he found the remote. Gone where the dark eyes that had replaced the usual lively and bright chocolate ones. They could deal with Grissom and his gambling problems tomorrow, right now it was enough just to sit down together as best friends and watch the game. Everything would be alright now that they had each others back.

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The End..

Well, I'm thinking that's it.. I may revisit it because I did want to do a scene where Grissom and Nick talk now that Grissom knows he wrongly accused Nick.. But I was beginning to really procrastinate whenever I tried to finish this and I don't like to leave you guys hanging.. Plus I've got some ideas for new stories.. Well anyway I hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks for reading and reviewing if you did.. I love hearing what you think.. :)


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